A standoff is playing out between the Banyana Banyana players and the South African Football Association (Safa) over whether to play the send-off match against Botswana at Tsakane Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Banyana players do not want to play the match at the stadium because they deem the township venue to be beneath them.
They want either the FNB Stadium or Orlando Stadium to have the privilege of hosting their departure for the Fifa Women’s World Cup starting on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
They flashed a middle finger to Safa president Danny Jordaan, CEO Lydia Monyepao , coach Desiree Ellis and team management, insisting they will not risk injury before the World Cup at a venue they claim is substandard.
The players trained at the University of Johanneburg on Saturday but Ellis is none the wiser whether they will take to the field on Sunday. Insiders say “the players raised their furious objections against playing in Tsakane to Jordaan, Monyepao as well as Banyana team manager Lauren Duncan.
Ellis and team manager Lauren Duncan and Caf referees inspected the facility, along with regional Safa Ekurhuleni president Job Mchunu on Saturday and approved it fit for play.
The Sunday Times understands the camp is also dogged by players demanding over R1m per player for the three group stage matches. “They want Safa to pay them this money, over and above what Fifa has put on the table,” said the source.
Fifa will pay each player at the tournament $30,000 (R572,000), which is part of the overall prize pool of $110 million (R2.1 billion).
Safa communications director Mninawa Ntloko said the match will go ahead as planned. “As far as Safa is concerned, nothing has changed and we are preparing for an international match at Tsakane Stadium tomorrow (today). Coach Desiree, team manager Lauren and the match officials inspected the venue and were happy.”
Banyana's game on Sunday is against an opponent far less challenging than the tough competition they will face in Australia and New Zealand.
Banyana will leave in two groups on Wednesday and Thursday, and will be based in Wellington, New Zealand, for the duration of the group stages.
They will tackle Costa Rica in Christchurch, eight days before beginning their World Cup campaign against Sweden on July 23.
South Africa’s Group G matches will include contests against Argentina on July 28 and Italy on August 2.
Botswana will not present Banyana with the kind of challenges that these three nations, which are in the top 30 in the world rankings, will pose at the showpiece. The Mares of Botswana are ranked 150th in the world, and they don’t have a lot of players playing outside their borders.
Banyana star Jermaine Seoposenwe said they would have preferred stiffer opposition to prepare them for what they will face Down Under, instead of the Mares. “As a team we would have liked to play a stronger team — but it’s a send-off match, and we will go there and do our best, and hopefully get a result,” she said.
Banyana players do not want to play the match at the stadium because they deem the township venue to be beneath them
Since winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations crown in Morocco in July, Banyana have played six matches in preparation for the tournament,
managing a single win and a draw and lost four. The build-up has included clashes with Brazil, which ended in 3-0 and 6-0 defeats in September. They lost 4-1 to Australia in October.
In February Banyana beat Uzbekistan 3-0 and drew 1-1 with Slovenia and went down 3-2 Serbia in Stara Pazova.
Their previous showings on the world stage were unimpressive as the team crashed out in the group stages of the Olympic Games in London 2012 and Rio 2016.
While they may be giants in Africa, Ellis’ team are still small fry against giants from other continents.
In London, South Africa were pitted against Sweden, Japan and Canada, and their best result was a goalless draw against the Japanese. They conceded seven goals and scored one through now retired Portia Modise in the 4-1 loss to Sweden.
In Rio, Banyana failed to score a goal, losing to Sweden (1-0) and China (2-0), before a goalless draw against hosts Brazil.
In their maiden World Cup in France in 2019 they lost to Spain (3-1), China (1-0) and Germany (4-0).
South Africa will face Argentina and Italy for the first time.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.